Alexander Mavrocordatos ( el, Ἀλέξανδρος Μαυροκορδάτος; 163623 December 1709) was a member of the Greek

Mavrocordatos family The House of Mavrocordatos (also Mavrocordato, Mavrokordatos, Mavrocordat, Mavrogordato or Maurogordato; el, Μαυροκορδάτος) is the name of a family of Phanariot Greeks originally from Chios, a branch of which was distinguished in the ...

, the ruler (

Archon ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...

) of the island of

Mykonos Mykonos (, ; el, Μύκονος ) is a Greek island, part of the Cyclades, lying between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. The island has an area of and rises to an elevation of at its highest point. There are 10,134 inhabitants according to the ...

, a doctor of

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

of the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

, and Dragoman of the Porte to

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

Mehmed IV in 1673 — notably employed in negotiations with the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

during the

Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War (german: Großer Türkenkrieg), also called the Wars of the Holy League ( tr, Kutsal İttifak Savaşları), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Pola ...

. He was the son of Nikolaos Mavrocordatos and Loxandra Scarlatou. Mavrocordatos drafted the

Treaty of Karlowitz The Treaty of Karlowitz was signed in Karlowitz, Military Frontier of Archduchy of Austria (present-day Sremski Karlovci, Serbia), on 26 January 1699, concluding the Great Turkish War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated by the ...

(1699). He became a secretary of state and was created a ''

Reichsgraf Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

'' of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. His authority, with that of

Amcazade Köprülü Hüseyin Pasha Amcazade Köprülü Hüseyin Pasha (" Köprülü Hüseyin Pasha the Nephew"; in sq, Hysein Pashë Kypriljoti) (1644–1702) of the Köprülü family, was the grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire under Mustafa II from September 1697 until September ...

and Rami Mehmed Pasha, was supreme at the court of

Mustafa II Mustafa II (; ota, مصطفى ثانى ''Muṣṭafā-yi sānī''; 6 February 1664 – 29 December 1703) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703. Early life He was born at Edirne Palace on 6 February 1664. He was the son of Sult ...

, and he did much to ameliorate the conditions of the Christians in the Ottoman Empire. He preserved the independence of the island of

which was ruled by its noble families and he made sure to not oppress its

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

minority. He was disgraced in 1703, but was later recalled to court by Sultan

Ahmed III Ahmed III ( ota, احمد ثالث, ''Aḥmed-i sālis'') was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and a son of Sultan Mehmed IV (r. 1648–1687). His mother was Gülnuş Sultan, originally named Evmania Voria, who was an ethnic Greek. He was born at H ...

. He also wrote several historical, grammatical, and other treatises. In 1689, Alexander Mavrocordatus became a member of the

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded ...

. His son, Nicholas Mavrocordatos, succeeded him as Dragoman in 1697 and in Nov 1709 was appointed hospodar of

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

References

Sources

* pp. 240–242

External links

1636 births Politicians from Istanbul 1709 deaths Alexander Counts of the Holy Roman Empire University of Bologna alumni Dragomans of the Porte Ottoman people of the Great Turkish War Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina 17th-century translators 17th-century Greek politicians 17th-century Greek writers 17th-century Greek educators 17th-century Greek physicians 18th-century Greek politicians 18th-century Greek writers 18th-century Greek educators 18th-century Greek scientists 18th-century Greek physicians Constantinopolitan Greeks Diplomats from Istanbul Physicians from Istanbul 17th-century Greek philosophers {{Greece-bio-stub